This past weekend was spent pretty much outside. The weather was spectacular, and the clan was active. Mikaela actually had the weekend off from soccer, which worked out well for her, since she could lounge at a friend's house to the wee hours of Saturday morning. Apparently, this house has a small lake on the grounds. She had a great time with her friends from school. She was the early riser and got to establish the morning menu: French toast, pancakes, eggs and bacon. The early bird in this case not only got the worm, but got to decide exactly how it was prepared. Saturday night she had a violin recital. We thought we would skip out for a speedy dinner beforehand, not realizing it was Prom Night in Carson City. Luckily we did get seated at Garabaldi's for a quick in and out, benefiting both parties, since we needed to be off to the recital, and the restaurant needed our table as they were booked solid with high schoolers all dressed up.
On Saturday, I was a volunteer at an aid station for the running of the Escape From Prison Hill Half marathon and relay. I had a great time, and was able to sneak in a run before the runners started arriving. My run was four miles, and 1000+ ft. of elevation gain. Wow, what a climb! All I will say is I ran it without walking. That's good enough for me.
Once the runners started coming through, I was able to snap photos, since the aid station was staffed with the experienced and gracious Carols! They didn't need me for anything other than four-wheeling them and the supplies to the location. If I had known I would have the opportunity to snap shots, I would have brought a back up battery for my camera. As it was, I think I got about 80% of the runners. If you're interested, the pics are here.
On Sunday, I was able to do a longer run (14 miles). The highlight of which was my discovery of a new trail going in. This bad boy is so stinkin' new, the crew was still out there working on it, and I was able to put the very first footprints on a stretch of it. Woo Hoo! I was asked to not reveal the location until the trail is tied at both ends to its linking points, so no more information is forthcoming, yet. As for the overall run, it was pretty good. I didn't get calf spasms or cramps and my endurance is returning after a long, bleak winter. I am getting more and more sold on the use of Perpeteum Solids for in-run nutrition, too. Good stuff, Maynard.
Spencer spent the weekend with friends doing the Chico Wildflower ride. It was his first organized bicycle event, and to be honest, I was nervous about it for a few reasons. (1) Due to where we live (on a good sized hill with no flats anywhere around), neither of my kids has had a lot of experience cycling. They are both proficient and not subject to crashing, but they haven't spent nearly the time I did at that age on two wheels. He was doing the ride on a brand new road bike, that he had all of 1.5 miles of riding on. We picked it up on Friday night, got it sized for him, and off he went to ride it to his friends house to be packed for the trip. Reason (#2) is that a road bike handles much differently than a mountain bike - his only other bicycling experience. A road bike is much more responsive, and there isn't a lot of rubber meeting the road, so side-slides are a lot more common. Reason (#3) was the distance. He and his buddy were signed up for the Flatflower, which was a 30 mile ride. He hadn't been 30 miles on a bicycle in the last 5 years combined. My butt hurt thinking about it.
Despite all the parental worries, he finished in under 3 hours, and is firmly hooked on doing more rides. For future rides, he just needs to focus more on remembering the important things... like packing his bike shorts.
Happy May Day, and pay no attention to the parades of missiles in Red Square. Wait, that hasn't happened since the Soviet Union dissolved. I guess that means no reason not to enjoy it!
On Saturday, I was a volunteer at an aid station for the running of the Escape From Prison Hill Half marathon and relay. I had a great time, and was able to sneak in a run before the runners started arriving. My run was four miles, and 1000+ ft. of elevation gain. Wow, what a climb! All I will say is I ran it without walking. That's good enough for me.
Once the runners started coming through, I was able to snap photos, since the aid station was staffed with the experienced and gracious Carols! They didn't need me for anything other than four-wheeling them and the supplies to the location. If I had known I would have the opportunity to snap shots, I would have brought a back up battery for my camera. As it was, I think I got about 80% of the runners. If you're interested, the pics are here.
On Sunday, I was able to do a longer run (14 miles). The highlight of which was my discovery of a new trail going in. This bad boy is so stinkin' new, the crew was still out there working on it, and I was able to put the very first footprints on a stretch of it. Woo Hoo! I was asked to not reveal the location until the trail is tied at both ends to its linking points, so no more information is forthcoming, yet. As for the overall run, it was pretty good. I didn't get calf spasms or cramps and my endurance is returning after a long, bleak winter. I am getting more and more sold on the use of Perpeteum Solids for in-run nutrition, too. Good stuff, Maynard.
Spencer spent the weekend with friends doing the Chico Wildflower ride. It was his first organized bicycle event, and to be honest, I was nervous about it for a few reasons. (1) Due to where we live (on a good sized hill with no flats anywhere around), neither of my kids has had a lot of experience cycling. They are both proficient and not subject to crashing, but they haven't spent nearly the time I did at that age on two wheels. He was doing the ride on a brand new road bike, that he had all of 1.5 miles of riding on. We picked it up on Friday night, got it sized for him, and off he went to ride it to his friends house to be packed for the trip. Reason (#2) is that a road bike handles much differently than a mountain bike - his only other bicycling experience. A road bike is much more responsive, and there isn't a lot of rubber meeting the road, so side-slides are a lot more common. Reason (#3) was the distance. He and his buddy were signed up for the Flatflower, which was a 30 mile ride. He hadn't been 30 miles on a bicycle in the last 5 years combined. My butt hurt thinking about it.
Despite all the parental worries, he finished in under 3 hours, and is firmly hooked on doing more rides. For future rides, he just needs to focus more on remembering the important things... like packing his bike shorts.
Happy May Day, and pay no attention to the parades of missiles in Red Square. Wait, that hasn't happened since the Soviet Union dissolved. I guess that means no reason not to enjoy it!
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